Myth 1 — Doing crunches, or abdominal work will decrease fat in the stomach area (If you do thousands of crunches, then you will have a flat stomach.)
Fact: If you do a 1,000 crunches a day, you will not get a flat stomach. “Contrary to what people think, there is no such thing as spot reduction. Fat loss occurs throughout the body in a pattern that depends largely on genetics, hormones and age,” says fitness expert Leena Mogre. If you concentrate on one area only, you will end up building muscle under the fat in that area. “Fat is lost over time by consistently burning more calories than the body consumes. You cannot control where it comes off from. The secret is to decrease calorie intake, increase activity and a workout that includes cardio, flexibility and strength,” says Indu Malhotra, trainer at Barbarian Gym, Delhi.  

Myth 2 – Weight training will leave women with bulky muscles
Fact – Many women fear weight training because they feel that it will leave them looking bulky and muscular. “This is a myth that I face while training most women. In fact, for women weight training is the best way to lose weight and stay lean,” says Malhotra. “Men and women are built differently. It is just impossible for a woman to gain as much muscle mass as a man. It’s just not going to happen,” says Mogre.  

Myth 3 – No pain, no gain
Fact - While it’s true that every workout involves minor discomfort initially, expecting your body to ache during every workout is wrong. “Many people believe that if they don’t feel pain during or after a workout, they need to push twice as hard or that their workout didn’t burn enough calories,” says Malhotra. Pain is not an indicator of whether your workout was a success or not. Your body may ache during the first few workouts because at this stage, the muscles are waking up after a long period of sleep. “Our bodies adjust themselves to cope with the physical stress eventually. So, if your muscles don’t ache, it only means that your body is stronger to handle the pressures put on it,” says Mogre.  

Myth 4 – Sweat is a good indicator of exercise intensity
fact – Sweat is an indicator of your body temperature rising, not necessarily that you are exercising at an intense level. “If this were the case, you could sit on your couch in a heated room all day and still lose weight,” says Mogre. Likewise, you could run a mile without working up a significant sweat and still manage to burn hundreds of calories.  

Myth 5 – Exercising for longer periods at a slow pace burns more calories
fact - Losing fat depends on how many calories you burn. “If you work out intensely for 45 minutes daily, you will lose more fat than if you work out at a slower pace for two hours,” says Mogre. However, it is not possible to sustain vigorous exercise for long, especially for beginners. It is advisable to start at a slow rate and keep increasing the intensity slowly.